Food loss in the US: What foods do Americans waste the most?

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on Earth.Org or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: A new analysis of US food-loss data finds major differences between commodities, with fruit juices recording the highest average loss rate at 32.66%
• Vegetables followed at 11.90%, while nuts and animal products had the lowest averages, at 2.17% and 2.06%, respectively

🔭 The context: The analysis uses FAO data covering 2000–2022 and averages reported losses across available supply-chain stages, including harvesting and retail
• Across all commodities studied, the average loss rate was 10.20%, while individual commodities varied considerably, including mustard seed at more than 60%

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Food lost along the supply chain represents wasted land, water, energy and agricultural inputs, while food decomposing in landfills generates methane
• The EPA estimates that food waste accounts for about 58% of methane emissions from US municipal solid-waste landfills

⏭️ What’s next: The analysis calls for more targeted interventions in high-loss categories, particularly processed fruit juices and vegetables
• Further research could examine household waste, farm-level losses and international supply chains to identify where reductions would have the greatest effect

💬 One quote: “Identifying these commodity-specific loss hotspots remains essential for designing targeted policy interventions, reducing agricultural resource waste, and guiding sustainable food systems strategy globally.” — Earth.Org

📈 One stat: The average food-loss rate recorded for fruit juices in the analysis is 32.66%, compared with 10.20% across all commodities

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